Architecture schools within the EELISA European University network have launched EELISArch, a new EELISA community dedicated to collaboration in architectural education, research, and design.
The initiative brings together five architecture schools of the EELISA European University Network: BME Faculty of Architecture (Budapest Hungary), ENSA Paris-Malaquais PSL (Paris France), UPM ETSAM (Madrid Spain), ZHAW School of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering (Winthertur Switzerland), and ITÜ Faculty of Architecture (Istanbul Turkey).
EELISArch aims to strengthen cooperation between architecture schools across the network and to promote architectural design and spatial thinking as key contributions to interdisciplinary research. This EELISA community shares a commitment to educating generalist architects who combine professional competence with creativity, critical thinking, and social responsibility. In a world shaped by multiple crises and growing uncertainty, EELISArch highlights the importance of questioning, resisting, and inventing as fundamental values guiding the discipline.
Find out more abour this thrilling EELISA Community wirth this interview to one of its founders, Prof. Dr. Oya Atalay Franck.
Q: Why does EELISArch matter?
A. We spoke with Oya Atalay Franck, Head of the Department of Architecture at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied about the vision behind EELISArch and what it means for architectural education within the alliance.
Q. What is the shared vision behind EELISArch?
A. EELISArch brings together the architecture schools within the EELISA European University network and strengthens a shared understanding of architectural education. Our goal is to train generalist architects who combine professional competence with sensibility and creativity.
Q. Which values guide the community?
A. In a world shaped by multiple crises and increasing uncertainty, EELISArch emphasises core values of the community: to question, to resist, and to invent. These values form the basis for critical thinking and responsible architectural design.
Q. How does EELISArch connect architecture with other fields and society?
A. EELISArch is open to collaboration with other disciplines, as well as with industry and civil society. By linking architectural design and spatial thinking with interdisciplinary research, we aim to contribute to shaping the built environment in a sustainable, responsible and research-based way.
Q. How does ZHAW benefit from participating in the network?
A. As a relatively small department within ZHAW, EELISArch allows us to have an impact that goes far beyond our size. Planning and construction are key levers for sustainability and transformation. Through EELISArch, we bring this perspective into the EELISA network while also strengthening ZHAW’s European profile.
Q. What role does EELISArch play within the wider EELISA alliance?
A. EELISA represents a new quality of European university cooperation. With EELISArch, we actively help shape this alliance — research-based, interdisciplinary and practice-oriented.
The EELISArch community is now available on the EELISA Digital Campus, where staff and students from all partner universities are invited to join and contribute to future activities.
Prof. Dr. Oya Atalay Franck
She is an architect, architectural historian and educator. She is a professor of architecture and the dean and managing director of the School of Architecture, Design and Civil Engineering at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Winterthur, Switzerland. She was the president of EAAE European Association for Architectural Education 2017-2024. Her current research areas are a.o. design research methods (research by design), artistic research, interface education/research/practice and higher education politics. She acts as an expert in various scientific bodies, a.o. the Swiss National Foundation of Research (SNF), the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO) and the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) as well as in peer review committees, quality audits, award programmes and project competitions.
